THE TOWER OF SILENCE.
**> On a hill in the island of Bombay (oalled ! by Europeans Malabar Hill) stand, all within j a short distance of eaoh other, the ohurohyard of the Christians, the cemetery of the Mussulmans, the plaoe where the Hindoos cremate their dead, and the Tower of Silence, where the Parsees leave thtirs uncohlned, to be devoured by the birds of the air. It is a lofty square enclosure, without roof or oof oring of any kind. Huge bloated vultures and kites, gorged with' human flush, throng lazily the summit of the lofty wall surrounding the stone pavement, whioh is divided into three compartments, wherein the corpses of men, of women, and of ohildren are laid apart, and all nude as they oame into the world. Somo relative or friend anxiously watohes, at a short distanoe, to ascertain which eye is first plucked out hy the birds, and from thence it is inferred whether the sool of the departed is happy or miserable. The Parsees regard with horror the Hindoo method of disposing of the dead, by throwing the bodies or ashes into rivers ; yet their own custom is even more repugnant to the feeliogs of the Europeans in India.— JPeoples of the World.
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Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 4793, 10 September 1883, Page 3
Word Count
206THE TOWER OF SILENCE. Star (Christchurch), Issue 4793, 10 September 1883, Page 3
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